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Legal Practice

The in-house Legal Practice is part of the Directorate of Corporate Resources.  They provide legal advice and support to whole Council.  Advice is not provided to the general public.

The Legal Practice is managed by the Solictor to the Council.  She is responsible for three lawyers, one Assistant Solicitor, two Legal Assistants and the Legal Practice Administrator.

The advice and support the Legal Practice provides includes:

  • Corporate advice on the Council's Constitution
  • Standards Committee
  • Planning Inquiries and prosecutions
  • Tree Preservation Orders
  • Road Closure Orders
  • Miscellaneous Highway matters
  • Compulsory Purchase Orders
  • Licensing
  • Criminal cases in the Magistrates Court
  • Possession cases in the County Court
  • Housing advice, including Tenancy issues and Homelessness
  • Bylaws
  • Human Rights
  • Contracts and Procurement
  • Employment Law
  • Data Protection and Freedom of Information
  • Environmental Information Regulations
  • Conveyancing (sales/purchases of land, properties, etc)
  • Landlord and Tenant
  • Right To Buy
  • Mortgage Redemptions
  • Car Loan Agreements
  • Debt Recovery

The Legal Practice achieved Lexcel accreditation in December 2001 and re-accredited in December 2004.  This is a quality mark awarded by the Law Society to practices which can demonstrate good client care and file management.

The Solicitor to the Council is also the Monitoring Officer.  The functions of the Monitoring Officer, as laid out in the Council's Constitution, are:

a) Maintaining the Constitution. The monitoring officer will maintain an up-to-date version of the Constitution and will ensure that it is widely available for consultation by members, staff and the public.

(b) Ensuring lawfulness and procedural fairness of decision making. After consulting with the head of paid service and chief finance officer, the monitoring officer will report to the full Council or to the Executive Committee in relation to an executive function if he or she considers that any proposal, decision or omission would give rise to unlawfulness or if any decision or omission has given rise to maladministration. Such a report will have the effect of stopping the proposal or decision being implemented until the report has been considered.

(c) Supporting the Standards Committee. The monitoring officer will contribute to the promotion and maintenance of high standards of conduct through provision of support to the Standards Committee.

(d) Receiving reports. The monitoring officer will receive and act on reports made by ethical standards officers and decisions of the case tribunals.

(e) Conducting investigations. The monitoring officer will conduct investigations into matters referred to the officer by ethical standards officers and make reports or recommendations in respect of them to the Standards Committee.

(f) Proper officer for access to information. The monitoring officer will ensure that executive decisions, together with the reasons for those decisions and relevant officer reports and background papers are made publicly available as soon as possible.

(g) Advising whether Executive Committee decisions are within the budget and policy framework. The monitoring officer will advise whether decisions of the Executive Committee are in accordance with the budget and policy framework.

(h) Providing advice. The monitoring officer will provide advice on the scope of powers and authority to take decisions, maladministration, financial impropriety, probity and budget and policy framework issues to all councillors.

(i) Restrictions on posts. The monitoring officer cannot be the chief finance officer or the head of paid service.